Visually arresting, but morally and essentially empty.
Natalie Portman is the Swan Queen. She is the White Swan who becomes the Black Swan through her own ambitions mixed with insecurity.
"Black Swan" is a good film because Darren Aronofsky made it so visually enchanting, he made it a film that I couldn't turn away from. Natalie Portman really is the best actress of the year, if not the decade. She made her character of Nina Sayers, the hopeful ballerina, dark, interesting and all-encompassing. And Vincent Cassel who plays the depraved, arrogant artistic director, actually made me question if his sleaziness was an act or who he really was.
The 7 stars is actually quite generous, it could easily be 2. The story is over-used and completely predictable and the few elements that were added to make it more daring, like female eroticism, just make it seem like it should be a porno film.
"Black Swan" is a film to be experienced, but if you're not interested in run-of-the-mill psychological thrillers with girl-on-girl action, then it is certainly not the best film of the year.
Also recommended: My Normal (for more female erotica)